Did you mean representations -taxation speaker:Mark Reckless?
Mark Reckless: ...then in the English version, 'Welsh Parliament', and it was suggested that that was the best option to command the closest to a consensus. Yet that then changed, and it changed, I'm told, following representations from within the Labour group and from one senior figure in particular. You tell us now it's a choice for Members, but is it not the case that the Bill we have before us is as it...
Mark Reckless: I know the Government's not the sponsor, but you, First Minister, as an individual Member, were responsible for the representations that you made, and that was why I asked was it not the case that we have the version the Llywydd put forward because of those representations, and because of how strongly and forcefully you put forward that having 'Senedd' on a monolingual basis would command a...
Mark Reckless: ...to Business Committee. It says, 'Had the committee'—and this is the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee— 'Had the committee consider that it did not, it could make written representations—'. That relates to subsidiarity. I assume that sentence should read, 'Had the committee considered that it did not, it could have made representations—'. And it then goes on:...
Mark Reckless: ...I think, on a cross-party basis, concerns have been raised is about the real-terms reduction in bus subsidy. Is that something where it's realistic for us to expect the Minister to have heard those representations and to make a change in response to them, or is it that the process allows people to think and perhaps be led on to expect a greater possibility of change, impact and influence...
Mark Reckless: ...limits? Five of them, you're saying, are now being made permanent. What evidence have we got as to how they've worked in terms of reducing or otherwise the pollutants we're concerned about? I get representations particularly around the 50 mph limit approaching the Brynglas tunnels, and I know there can be other reasons for that, but the emphasis recently has been on the air pollution when...
Mark Reckless: ...for Public Policy Research are all heavily represented, and I just wonder: is that accepted and intended, as a Government of the left, that you want to have advice externally with at least greater representation from people of a similar outlook? You spoke about the recovery document that was published on 24 April, and that seems to be driving, from what you say, a lot of what you're doing,...
Mark Reckless: ..., and as we have developed more powers, we should therefore have more people. But surely a corollary of that argument is the institutions from which we've taken power—i.e. Westminster and our representation there and also prospectively, I hope, the European Union—should see those numbers reduced. That has not happened, yet we have this urgency to do this by 2021, potentially before...
Mark Reckless: ...all foreign nationals resident in Wales, now has the power to put up income tax as much as it wants. The terms of the 2011 referendum have been set aside. We're also seeing the end of our over-representation in Westminster, as we fall now from 40 MPs to 32, just as Scotland fell from 72 MPs to 59 after devolution—this being delayed for Wales until the boundary review following devolution...
Mark Reckless: ...having input to provide guidance on what are the appropriate things to consider strikes me as sensible. Then the planning committee can take into account local situations and, as importantly, local representations. It's clear that opencast mining is rarely popular, and, where it's been brought forward, generally there have been significant objections. I see no reason why a locally elected...
Mark Reckless: ...that before, but UKRep is having to change what it did and is looking to Wales, to be fair to the CBI and to some of the other larger private sector organisations, for how it adjusts its diplomatic representation to a world that will have a greater focus on soft power rather than institutional levers within the European Union. I want to say a bit about the Basque and the Quebecois...
